Shadow the Hedgehog: Dawn
by KrissyKat91
Summary: Five years after the assumed death of Sonic the Hedgehog, a black hedgehog calling himself Shadow and a not-quite-human girl named Maria show up in New Mobotropolis. Intrigued by both his strange resemblance to her late love and his identical ability to reach supersonic speeds, Princess Sally decides that an investigation is in order. TENTATIVE RATING.


KrissyKat91: Finally, after three years, I present the sequel to _Sonic the Hedgehog: Dusk_.

Ages: Shadow – 25(biologically/85(chronologically); Sally – 25; Knuckles – 26; Amy – 22; Tails – 18; Cream – 16; Cheese – ?; Chris – 18; Maria – 18(biologically)/78(chronologically)

* * *

Ch. 1: Escape

"THIS WAY! THEY WENT THIS WAY!"

"CATCH THEM! DON'T LET THEM ESCAPE!"

These and similar cries were what could be heard in the GUN base as two figures, the taller one carried in the arms of the other, rushed through the halls.

Pausing in an alcove, the smaller figure asked, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. What's going on?! Where are we?!"

"I'm not sure, but I think I know how to find out. Hang on."

The smaller figure scooped the taller one back up, then took off down the hall at impossible speeds, ducking and dodging around uniformed soldiers too fast for the naked eye to see. Several minutes later they skidded to a stop in a large room. Putting the taller figure down, the smaller one pressed a button on a nearby console which caused a set of blast doors to slam down over the entrance.

"That will keep them out for a while," the figure said, flipping a switch. The lights in the room came on, revealing the smaller figure to be a black anthropomorphic hedgehog with red stripes in various places, ruby red eyes and a tuft of white fur on his chest. The taller one was a young blonde woman, around eighteen years of age, who at first glance seemed to be a normal, if petite, human. And yet there was something about her—eyes slightly too large for her face, subtle points to her ears, muscle definition just a tiny bit out of proportion—that suggested she was wasn't.

The hedgehog walked over to a large computer, hands flying across the keys.

"Shadow," the girl asked, "how did you know this place was here?"

Shadow's hands stilled. "I… I've been in bases like this." He winced and pressed two fingers to his temple. "I think."

The girl blinked. "You mean, from before?"

"Yes." The tapping of keys resumed.

"Do you remember where?"

Shadow winced again, pain flashing across his face. "Please, Maria, I need to focus."

"…Sorry."

He sighed. "It's alright. You're just trying to help. But you know what the Professor said. Retrograde amnesia can't be fixed just by… asking… questions…"

"Shadow?" Maria asked, looking up from where she'd been fiddling with the hem of the pajamas she'd woken up in. "What's wrong?"

"I-I hacked into a local news network… Maria, what was the last date you remember, before the attack?"

"U-um," the blonde thought for a moment, "June 4, 2017. Why?"

"Because this network claims today is May 7," he turned horrified eyes on her, "2077."

"…What?" she breathed, eyes wide.

"We've been asleep," Shadow replied slowly, "for sixty years."

* * *

"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Maria whispered as she followed Shadow through the ventilation ducts, which were surprisingly large enough to fit her. Then again, the blonde wasn't exactly tall.

"Yeah. The map I found pinpointed the transporter the Professor was working on in the very center of the base." The fact that it was literally right next door to the room they'd woken up in was very carefully _not_ mentioned. It was too embarrassing.

"Do you even know what we'll do when we get to Mobius? Hasn't it been sixty years there, too?"

"I don't know, but it's better than staying here. Do you remember the self destruct code?"

"Yes," Maria replied. "It's my birthday."

"Alright. We're here. Be ready."

So saying, Shadow lunged forward in a spin dash, crashing through the vent grating. The three soldiers in the room let out cries of surprise, but were unable to do anything else before the black hedgehog went on the attack. Three seconds later the men were out cold, tied up in spare electrical wire, and tossed out the door, which Shadow promptly locked.

As Maria dropped out of the vent, Shadow darted to the control panel on the large machine in the center of the room. The transporter was shaped like a ring, painted gold and bronze, and was large enough for a combine harvester to fit through.

"Did Grandfather ever actually get this thing to work?"

"Yeah, once, but it took almost every ounce of Chaos Energy I had."

 _"That's_ why you slept for three days straight that one time! Grandfather told me you were sick!"

Shadow snorted. "I'm the world's Ultimate Life-form, Maria. I don't _get_ sick." The ring lit up abruptly, a turbine somewhere within it starting to whine. "I've inputted the self destruct sequence and set it to go off in three minutes. I'll power up the ring, but I'm gonna drop like a rock afterwards, so you'll have to pull me through."

"Okay. Be careful, Shadow."

The hedgehog flashed her a smirk. "Aren't I always?"

"I'm not going to dignify that with a response," Maria muttered as Shadow removed the rings around his wrists. Immediately scarlet energy erupted from within him, arching away from his outstretched hands and hitting a node on top of the ring. The space within the ring warped and twisted before tearing apart and forming a swirling vortex that extended slightly away from the back of the ring.

As the vortex formed, the energy around Shadow sputtered out. He swayed for a moment, then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.

* * *

"Eeurgh," Shadow moaned as he swam back to consciousness.

"Shadow?"

Prying his eyes open, the black hedgehog peered into a pair of worried blue ones.

"…Did we make it?"

Maria smiled tiredly. "Barely. The soldiers were in the process of blasting the door down when I pulled you through."

"Ah. How long have I been out?"

"About five hours. You seem to be recovering a lot faster than the last time you did this."

"The Professor must have made adjustments." Shadow levered himself into a sitting position, then cringed and rubbed his temples. "Argh, my head. Where are we, anyway?"

A blonde brow arched upwards. "You tell me. I've never been to Mobius before."

The hedgehog gave her a Look, then examined the area. They were sitting under a large oak tree growing on a cliff that overlooked a large city with an elegant castle in its center. Looking out over the city, Shadow's brows furrowed. The castle wasn't ringing a bell, but the rest…

"Mobo… tropolis…"

"What?"

"This city. It's Mobotropolis." Shadow closed his eyes, trying to catch the not-quite-a-memory before it got away. "But I… I think it had been destroyed. Or converted to something else." He shook his head. "Anyway, they must have had time to rebuild it, however long it's actually been here."

Maria bit her lip. "So, what do we do now?"

Shadow tilted his head, smiling crookedly as his headache finally faded into something bearable. "We find you some real clothes, then we go play tourist."


End file.
